Oak Cupboard Unit

UKworkshop.co.uk

Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

jameslee30

Established Member
Joined
26 May 2010
Messages
48
Reaction score
0
Location
Sheffield
This is my latest weekend project, just finished today and put the first coat of hard-wax oil on.

Construction is Oak veneered mdf base, dividers and door panels. everything else is solid. Dovetailed top rails and plinth. This unit is going to house a stereo and cds/dvds etc. Dimensions are 1800mm x 500mm x 600mm (H).

I did this for the in laws, but would be interested to know how from anyone how much they would expect to charge for this sort of project. I ask as i would like to know if i can work at an economical speed in my workshop. The shelves are solid oak, as is the top which is out of 1.5" stock. (giant waney edge board!!)

IMG_0093.jpg


IMG_0091.jpg


Detail of the very very small moulding, This was an afterthought hence its a plant on moulding.

IMG_0092.jpg


Input always appreciated! Sorry theres no WIP, i always forget! James.
 
Personally if I took this on as a commission piece I would look to charge al least £550/£600 but I would only work in solid timber.

Very nice contemporary piece

Rog
 
Hudson you dont have a very high day rate if your saying 2/3 days work for £300?

Materials have come in at about £350 i think.

However from your prices my time must be well off. unless you have different ways of doing things. But i would say the initial machining and final finishing would be a good 2 days work anyway? iv mainly used hand dovetails and biscuits in this, would either of you jointed in different methods?

I am a cabinet maker by proffession but this one was done at home so machines and space was not the same as a full setup.

James.
 
Hi James,

Just re-read you original post and realised I missed something - it was for your inlaws!

If I made that piece for my inlaws it would be £1500 at least - general customers though £600ish!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

My pricing depends upon how much I like the clients :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Rog
 
My day rate for in shop work is £120 excluding VAT (I have very small overheads, My commercial unit houses 3 businesses, sits in the grounds of my home and get 75% off business rates).

2 hours machining swan to PAR, 1 and half hour cutting to rough size and planing cut edge, 1 hour gluing the 4 panels and cramping (top sides and bottom), 1 hour to mound trim, 1 hour to set up router and run doors, half hour to glue and clamp doors, what ever it takes to glue up for the inners. Day two. 30 min to run panels to finished sizes, 2 hours to sand the panels, 30 min to cut the slots/rabbets or what ever for the back sheet to sit in, 30min to assemble, 1 hour to sand the doors and connect hardware, 2 hour to sand the rest and final sand, hour and half to final assemble it all, 1 hour spare just encase im working slow :D. I would probably put the first coat on that day so the next day would be available to do 2 or 3 more coats.

I also don't see finishing as 2 days work. As a lot of finishes require say only 2 hours work then leaving for a day ill only count that as 2 hours. So if it requires 3 coats of finish and a sand in between which takes 2 hours for each coat but 2 hours to dry, I would only count that as 2 hours not 4, so in total I have done 6 hours work although in actual time the finish has taken 12 hours (day and half) due to drying, so I would only charge for 6 hours work.

I would have used a door cutter set in the router for the doors but I like the dovetail idea.
 
Interesting. Would the use of a Domino in professional 'shop speed the assembly of piece like this? I can't see any ref to the use of one (but I might have missed something) If the top is solid, how was it fixed?..buttons I assume - Rob
 
woodbloke":qy2js7p0 said:
Interesting. Would the use of a Domino in professional 'shop speed the assembly of piece like this? I can't see any ref to the use of one (but I might have missed something) If the top is solid, how was it fixed?..buttons I assume - Rob

Not for me. Biscuits are just as fast, They might in the door construction if the rails and stiles are just butted but the door routing kit makes using a domino/biscuit seem slow as it cuts everything including the centre panel slot.

Working out a quote today and just realised im doing something really wrong. I charge £22.50 a hour times that by 8 and its more then £120 (hammer) (hammer) so my day rate is £180 (hammer)
 
Woodbloke - The use of a domino would not of sped up the carcase production in this case really. the base was biscuited in and the 2 top stretcher rails are dovetailed. The top is screwed to this with slotted holes.

Superunknown. the finish i have used is osmo polyx hardwax oil. Very easy to apply and is very durable. I was going to french polish it but they wanted something more durable, and as i had a lot in the cupboard, i used that.

Hudson, That sounds better for your day rate, it did seem very low. I would still be suprised if you could produce this in the amount of time you have stated. I did go a bit overkill on the doors and did full mortice and tennon, this was purely to entertain myself and i know i could of used a router set to speed things up. However, if you were making this would you of used hidden dovetailed top stretchers and a seperate dovetailed plinth? These take much longer but generally adds a nice touch of craftsmanship to a piece of furniture.

Im not saying you are wrong and obviously you know your own speed etc, im just trying to see if im really that much slower in the home workshop.

James.
 
I wonder how much I have lost from that mess up of sums (hammer)

Your probably right, I'm not sure if I normally under quote in time or I just get distracted easy but I normally go over a day or so to what I said. I wouldn't have used dovetails, especially if there hidden which is where you would have taken longer. You asked if I would have do anything different, the answer:- Yes. I would have used door cutters. Dovetails are nice touches and the units looks well made and finished.

When I was working with small machines and mainly power tools in a garage I would say this would have taken me a week and a half, if I to used the same joinery as you.
 
Yeah, i think that is one of the most challenging of things in woodworking..trying to work out how long a job will take. always seems to be longer than expected eh!

I think im going to get a set of door cutters. i would get some for the spindle moulder but they are just too pricey, will save a lot of time when making small doors like these though.

You saying a week and a half makes me feel much better. i was only doing this a bit at a time but at a guesstimate i think its taken about 50hours?

Cheers, james.
 
Back
Top